People of the Sun by Ben Gartner

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Welcome to It's Raining Books! What group did you hang out with in high school?

I crossed borders. I hung out with the theater kids, partied with the jocks, and kept up with the brains in the AP classes. I played D&D, and also went to concerts. I think this reflects my love of learning and my desire to understand different perspectives than my own. I think that quality lends itself well to the writerly life. I love to jump into other people’s heads and see the world through their eyes.

What are you passionate about these days?

Space. My youngest son and I are really into it. We’ve been reading and watching all the material we can get our hands on, keeping up with the latest news, etc. As of this writing, my latest WIP is a “space fiction” story. Super fun. This is an amazing time for the space program.


If you had to do your journey to getting published all over again, what would you do differently?

Start earlier. I waited until age forty to start writing again, and I wish I’d started earlier. Though, every time I say that, I know that it was probably the perfectly right time. Relatedly, that’s a theme I explore in my book, People of the Sun. “If you could change history, should you?”

Ebook or print? And why?

Both. I generally prefer to read from print, but I do love the mobile nature of ebooks. I typically have a hard copy book going at home, as well as an ebook synced to my phone and tablet so that I can read on the go or when I’m not home and don’t want to lug a book around.

What is your favorite scene in this book?

Hard to pick a favorite, but I’m going to go with one of the scenes that was also the hardest to write. When John and Sarah go to a presentation in the future, the scientists on stage are trying to explain how they have been able to slow time. This includes a visual depiction of one aspect of Einstein’s theory of relativity. I wanted to make it as easy to understand as possible with an analogy that made sense, while also not missing the opportunity to blow some young minds. I hope that mission was accomplished.

The explosive reveal about who John and Sarah really are and why they’re traveling through time, with their most gut-wrenching challenge yet. In the time of the Aztec, a scoundrel named Cortés arrives and the kids are forced to make an extremely difficult decision: If you could change history, should you? For more twists, more danger, and more fun, read the third book in The Eye of Ra series, People of the Sun!

Read an Excerpt

This was too weird, so it had to be happening for real. If it made no sense at all, then it had to be real. That was what John had come to expect of their life ever since he and Sarah entered that cave in Colorado and traveled back in time to the ancient Egyptian town of Saqqara. Then, later, traveled through time again, from the museum in Washington, DC, to the ancient Roman frontier town of Aventicum.

Abnormal was their new normal, and seeing these two people—if that’s all they really were, and not gods—speaking of Aten and telling them they were needed again . . . John shrugged. It had to be true.

Something in his bones told him: It has to be true.

He thought all this out before the earth trembled again, and he matched the stare of the older man. John’s hand reached to the pendant he always wore around his neck. The eye of Ra.

The tremor stopped and immediately John asked, “How d’we go back?”

The old woman grinned. “Always so precocious.”

The old man laughed. “Agreed. Some things never change.” He winked at the woman.

“If you are who you I think you are, then prove it.” Sarah crossed her arms and pivoted back to confront these strangers head-on.

“What exactly is going on here?” Aunt Lorraine asked. “Do you know each other?”

“That necklace isn’t what you think,” the old man said, looking at John fidgeting with his pendant.

John felt the warmth of the pendant on his chest. He could trace it in his sleep, and in fact had done just that many times in his dreams—over the brow, around the almond-shaped eye, down the arc with the curlicue finish, then the final straight line with the knifelike edge. The eye that could transport them through space and time.

About the Author: Ben Gartner is the award-winning author of The Eye of Ra time travel adventure series for middle graders. His books take readers for a thrilling ride, maybe even teaching them something in the meantime. Ben can be found living and writing near the mountains with his wife and two boys.

Thank you for having me on your blog! If people would like to learn more about me or my books, the best place to find me is my website: https://BenGartner.com.
I’m also active on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BGartnerWriting
A bit less on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BGartnerWriting
And I’m really bad at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenGartnerAuthor

My books are available wherever books are sold! Again, thanks for having me.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/People-Sun-Eye-Ben-Gartner/dp/1734155280/
Local bookstore: https://indiebound.org/search/book?keys=author%3AGartner%2CBen
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/people-of-the-sun/id1578394762
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/people-of-the-sun-ben-gartner/1139909512?ean=9781734155280
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/people-of-the-sun-2
Everywhere else: https://books2read.com/people-of-the-sun-ben-gartner

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